


let me taste the salt you breathe

by dizzyondreams



Category: Free!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Future Fish, M/M, merharu, mermaid au, the rating will definitely go up lmao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-14
Updated: 2015-01-12
Packaged: 2018-02-21 02:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2451875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dizzyondreams/pseuds/dizzyondreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin picks up a largely uncommunicative fish boy (with no notion of manners or any social customs, Rin might add) off the beach who moves into his bath, eats only mackerel, and frowns at him whenever he tries to leave the room. His friends are either useless or too amused by his situation to do anything, and it really doesn't help that Rin finds himself more attracted to someone half fish than anyone has a right to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Just promise me you won’t freak, okay?” Rin muttered, stepping back from the door to let Rei through, rolling his eyes when he noticed the blond trailing after him. “You brought Nagisa?”

Rei cut his eyes to the side, sighing, as Nagisa shouldered past and swept into the hall with a snort. “I am not _brought_. Hazuki Nagisa is never _brought_.”

“Did you really think he’d stay behind?” Rei mumbled tiredly. Rin shrugged and closed the door behind him. “Now,” Rei pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and followed Nagisa into the hall. “What is it exactly that I’m not supposed to be freaking out about?”

Rin twisted his hands together, glancing down the hall to the bathroom, where the sound of splashing water could be heard. Rei and Nagisa followed his gaze curiously, Nagisa bouncing on his heels excitedly.

“What is it?” He asked, sidling up to Rin and looping his arm through Rin’s. He leaned in conspiratorially. “Did you bring a client home and now they won’t leave?”

“Nagisa, please.” Rei muttered stiffly, and rolled his eyes when Nagisa pouted at him.

Rin sighed. “No, it’s. I think it’s best if you see it before I explain.”

Nagisa made an excited noise, and they both followed Rin as he led them towards the bathroom. Mentally preparing himself, he took a deep breath, and pushed the door open so Nagisa and Rei could look inside.

For a full two minutes, nobody spoke. Rin was fairly certain it was the longest Nagisa had been without speaking since _forever_. Rei finally broke the pained silence.

“That’s a mermaid.” He said dumbly, eyes wide. Nagisa made a weird little noise, but stayed inexplicably silent. He looked a little shell-shocked. Rin could really relate.

“Uh, he prefers merman.” He said into the silence. “I think.”

“He speaks.” Rei said blankly. “Those are gills.” He added quietly, like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. Again, Rin could relate.

The merman looked young, maybe their age, even. A delicate blue tail, and patches of blue scales all over his body. Gills on the sides of his throat, overgrown dark hair that hung in his eyes. Definitely the physique of a swimmer, and the calmest, bluest eyes Rin had ever seen. Tranquil, was probably the word. Rin hadn’t really been in the right state to come up with the word _tranquil_ at the time. 

“He doesn’t speak.” Rin said, meeting the merman’s eyes and looking away quickly. “Or at least, he hasn’t spoken to me yet.”

“At least he’s cute!” Nagisa said cheerfully, slapping Rin on the back, looking a lot less stunned and a lot more _sly_. “Where’d you pick him up?” Like Rin had gone to some fucking, _club_ for mermaids. Men. Whatever. 

“Where’d you think?” He snapped. Nagisa pulled a hurt face. “The beach.” Rin said, calmer. Calm. He had to stay calm about this. Keep a cool head, sensible, all the things he was _not_. This is why he’d needed Rei.

“You took him from the beach?” Rei asked blankly, still staring in disbelief at the merman. “You stole a mermaid.” He muttered, and the merman scowled and flicked his tail testily.

“Merman.” Rin corrected blandly. “Not mermaid. Besides, he was hurt.” _And cute_ , his subconscious reminded him. He aggressively shoved that thought down, and stepped a little closer to the tub, gesturing to a large mottled bruise that covered the merman’s ribcage. “He couldn’t move properly.”

Rei frowned, crossing his arms. “Can I come closer?”

Rin shrugged and stole a glance at the merman, who looked positively hostile, bunched up against the far side of the bath. “I wouldn’t. His teeth are sharp, and nails.” He held up his bare forearms with a weak smile, so the two could see the bite marks and gouges from the merman’s nails. Nagisa whistled and rocked back on his heels.

“You always liked them feisty.” He said seriously, and stuck his tongue out where Rin glared.

“Stop that.” He muttered, and Nagisa pulled off a smart salute, winking.

“What’re you gonna do with him?” Rei asked, looking calculating. A tiny spark of hope flared in Rin’s chest. Rei would know what to do! There was a reason why he was the Designated Adult of their group, anyway.

“No.” He said hopelessly. “I have no idea.”

Rei hummed thoughtfully, then dropped his hands to his sides. “Neither do I.” In an instant, Rin’s hopes were crushed. He groaned. He was well and truly fucked. “You should’ve left him there.” Rei continued. “I don’t know what possessed you to take him back here.”

Rin shrugged helplessly. To be honest, _he_ didn’t even know why he’d brought the merman back. He’d just looked _pretty_ and _vulnerable_ and Rin was a sucker for a pretty face, if he was being honest with himself. The fact that the dude had a tail was something he could apparently overlook.

“Help me out.” He pleaded, as Rei turned for the door. Behind them, Rin heard a hiss. He assumed Nagisa had tried to approach the merman, and didn’t bother looking around. “I don’t know what he _eats_ , even.”

Rei hummed but kept walking, leading Rin out of the bathroom and down the hall to the front door. “Fish, presumably.” He looked over his shoulder for Nagisa, and frowned when he realised he wasn’t there. “Nagisa!”

“Don’t leave.” Rin begged. “You should know what to do.”

Rei frowned, hand on the doorknob. Nagisa joined them, looking cheerful and slightly damp. “I’m a scientist.” Rei said haughtily. “Not a marine biologist.”

“Any chance you can hook me up with one?” Rin asked with a weak smile. Rei rolled his eyes.

“No, I can’t.” He stepped outside, leaving Rin standing in the doorway. “Good luck.” He said seriously, before herding Nagisa back to the car.

“He’s a nice catch though!” Nagisa called back with a grin, and laughed when Rei slapped the back of his head. “Good luck!”

And with that, Rin was left standing in the doorway alone, the faint sounds of splashing coming from the direction of the bathroom. He slapped a hand over his eyes and groaned. “What am I gonna do when I have to go to _work?_ ” He muttered into the empty air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh..hey...so! i've been working on this fic for a while and i've been convinced to upload it in chapters since it's incredibly long and sitting on my desktop looking at me so. here it is..? hopefully to fill the hole in your heart that free! es left you with and to fill the merharu hole in ao3....
> 
> so i'll probably try and upload it once a week (depends on how good the writing is going tbh my workload is killing me currently and i have another chaptered fic on the go already...) but i hope you enjoy!! please point out any mistakes and leave some feedback i'm kinda nervous about this??
> 
> also my tumblr is girlshinji if you wanna keep up with updates i'll be tagging it fic: salt you breathe
> 
> thanks for reading!! hope my godawful summary skills didn't put you off ...


	2. Chapter 2

Rin called in sick to work that night, giving some bullshit excuse about coming down with something. Afterwards, he sat in the kitchen and pored through several cookery books his mother had forced on him before moving out. He was no cook, and survived off mostly takeaways, but he reckoned he could probably pull off cooking up some fish. But what if he ate raw fish? Rin glanced towards the doorway. That would be a lot easier.

He didn’t want to leave the house though, not yet, so he rang the only person in the world who would go buy him fish with no explanation.

“Hi, Rin.” Makoto said pleasantly. “What’s up?”

Rin sighed in relief. He’d been afraid Makoto wouldn’t pick up, considering it was the middle of the afternoon and he was probably in work. “Makoto! I need you to do something for me.”

“What is it?” He sounded surprised, but true to nature, he didn’t deny Rin straight away. Honestly, he’d probably agree to the stupidest thing whilst dragging several people out of a burning building. With the same ever-present pleasant tone of voice.

“I need you to pick up some fresh fish for me.” Rin said, flicking through the cookery book on his lap. “I’ll pay you back, but.” He hesitated. “I’ll show you why when you come by later.”

“Okay.” Makoto said slowly, curiously. “I get off work at five.”

“That’s perfect.” Rin said with a sigh. “Thank you.”

“Okay, well. I’ll see you later?” Makoto paused, and Rin would hear loud voices in the background. “You okay, Rin?”

“Fine, just fine.” Rin said bitterly. “Everything is perfect.”

They exchanged goodbyes, Makoto sounding wary, and Rin slumped back in his seat with a sigh. Two more hours until Makoto could arrive, bringing food and a much better personality than Rin’s. Until then…

“I better go see if I can talk to him again.” Rin muttered to himself, rubbing his hands over his face. 

The merman looked bored. One webbed hand hanging over the edge of the tub, tail flicking lethargically. He turned his head when Rin entered, fixed him with those deep blue eyes.

“Hi.” Rin said stupidly, and put the toilet seat down before sitting. The merman gave him a sardonic look and turned his attention back to the ceiling. Rin resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Seriously, this was worse than looking after kids. At least they told you what they wanted. Repeatedly. In shrill little voices. Rin closed his eyes. “I’m Rin.” He offered, and the merman rolled his head to the side to look at him again.

He was a weird thing. Human but…not. Apart from the whole tail thing, there was something about him which was just _other_. Maybe it was the light blue webbing between his otherwise human-looking hands, or the fluttering red gills on his smooth white throat. The patches of blue scales fading into pale skin all over his body? Rin wouldn’t pinpoint it. Maybe it was the slit pupils that made him look so distinctly inhuman. He cleared his throat and tried again.

“What’s your name?” He was greeted by the same blank look as before as the merman blinked dumbly at him. Rin was starting to think he didn’t understand human language after all. “Are you hungry?” He ventured, leaning forward over his knees a little, chin in his hands.

Shockingly, the merman responded with a nod, and shifted, leaning on the edge of the tub, chin propped on his crossed arms. Rin blinked at him for a minute, stunned, then grinned.

“You’re hungry?” He asked excitedly, and laughed when the merman nodded again. “My friend is bringing some fish here in a bit.” Rin told him, and smiled when the merman nodded again. Okay, so he could _understand_ Rin, but couldn’t speak. For a fleeting second, Rin wondered if some sort of Little Mermaid-esque business was going on, but dismissed the thought. Maybe their vocal cords didn’t work like a human’s did.

“I’m sorry for kidnapping you.” Rin said seriously. The merman just glanced away and shrugged. “You looked hurt, and I panicked.” He admitted, looking down at his hands. There was still some nail polish from a routine a couple of nights ago, dark red and chipped now. He started chipping it away as he spoke. “I’ve always done it. Taken hurt birds in, once brought a dog home. My mum flipped her shit.” He smiled to himself, then caught the merman frowning and backtracked. “Not that I’m saying you’re on the same level as a dog! Just.” He decided to quit while he was ahead, and went back to picking at his nails.

“What’s that?”

Rin jumped, practically falling sideways in shock as the merman spoke. He gaped silently for a minute, much to the merman’s apparent disgruntlement, before gathering his wits and stuttering a surprised, “What?”

The merman didn’t say anything, just flicked his tail lazily in the water, cheek pillowed on the side of the bath. Rin blinked. Maybe he was going mad? Maybe he’d imagined it? God, when was Makoto getting here this was getting out of hand-

“What’s that?” The merman said again, in a perfectly ordinary voice, slowly, like Rin was stupid or something. He was pointing to Rin’s knees, and when Rin looked down in dazed surprise, he realised the merman was pointing at his painted nails.

“You can speak.” He said wonderingly, and then, because the merman was rolling his eyes, added, “It’s nail polish.”

“Can I try some?” He mumbled, and Rin practically fell over himself rushing to go grab a bottle. God, the _finally_ speaks and it’s to get Rin to paint his nails? Either all mermen (merpeople?) had some sort of fixation with human things, or this one in particular was kinda weird. It only occurred to him that he still didn’t know the merman’s name after he’d rushed back into the bathroom, a bottle of blue nail polish in his hand.

“What’s your name?” He blurted, startling the merman who was staring silently at the door. There was a long period of silence, and Rin wondered if he’d clammed up again, before he tilted his head to the side and spoke.

“Haru.”

Rin nodded weakly, and took a seat on the slightly damp floor next to the bath. _Haru_. He had a name, finally. “Why didn’t you just speak in the first place.” He muttered, showing Haru the bottle of nail polish with a small smile. Haru’s eyes lit up, and ignored Rin’s question to point at the bottle and ask, “Can you do mine?”

Rin stared at him for a second in pure amazement. His mind was having difficulty processing the situation, so he just nodded speechlessly and motioned for Haru to rest his hand on the side of the tub.

“Fine,” He mumbled. “Just don’t let it rub off.”

The webs between his fingers were thin and translucent, just the faintest blue. Rin did his best not to stare too much at Haru’s face, but they were so close and Rin was so weak. He could feel his own face heating up, whilst Haru stayed perfectly composed. He had a really good profile, Rin concluded, this cute little turned up nose and long black lashes. It was ridiculous really, that here was Rin, painting an actual merman’s nails, and all he could focus on was how cute he was. Needless to say, Rin hadn’t dated for a while.

By the time Makoto knocked on the door, a little past five, Rin had learned two things from Haru. One, he wasn’t very talkative, and two, he liked to hold hands. Rin wasn’t going to expand on the second one, except to say that Haru’s hands were very cold (cool-blooded like a fish?) and that for a guy who’d practically bitten Rin to shreds, he was acting awfully friendly, even if he was being aloof about it. It was a surreal experience, sitting on a bathroom floor with a largely uncommunicative fish boy, holding his hand because he made a hurt face every time Rin tried to move away. All the while resolutely avoiding eye contact with Rin. He was kinda like a cat, in that respect. You show it affection, and it ignores you. But god rest your soul if you stop showing it that affection.

“I’ve gotta get the door.” Rin said, scrambling to his feet as Makoto knocked again. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” Haru said, pillowing his cheek on the side of the bath and holding his hand out in front of him to examine Rin’s handiwork. Judging by the look on his face, it wasn’t quite up to scratch.

Makoto was holding a large plastic carrier bag, and gave Rin a pleased grin when he opened the door. Rin brushed his hair back off his face, muttering a quick hello, hoping he didn’t look as frazzled as he felt. 

“Thanks for bringing this.” Rin said gratefully, accepting the bag and stepping back to let him in. “You would not believe the day I’ve had.”

“Actually, I can.” Makoto said, and grimaced good-naturedly when Rin made a face at him. “Nagisa sent me a picture. You’re keeping him in your bath?”

Rin gaped at him. How the hell had that little bastard gotten a picture? Makoto shrugged apologetically and pointed at the carrier bag. “You should put those away before they start to stink.”

“You wanna see him?” Rin asked, after putting the fish in the freezer and re-joining Makoto. “In my bath, yeah.” He muttered, an answer to a subtle head tilt from Makoto. “Where else am I supposed to put him?” He grumbled, when Makoto raised his eyebrows, before leading him from the hall to the bathroom.

“His name’s Haru.” He said, pushing open the door. To his credit, Makoto only stared for about a minute, then he gave Rin a puzzled look.

“Did you paint his nails?”

Rin scratched the back of his head, grimacing. “Yeah,” He mumbled, “About that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you liked this chapter!! comments are always appreciated !!


	3. Chapter 3

It turned out that Haru was a big fan of grilled mackerel, and it was honestly impressive the way he shovelled it down when Rin gave it to him. Clumsy with a fork, but putting it away with almost superhuman speed. It was kind of endearing, actually.

“Hungry, huh.” Rin said lightly. Haru gave him a flat look.

“I’ve never had cooked fish before.” He said levelly. “It’s good.” He added, and glanced away when Rin grinned happily.

“Good to hear.” He said, and cleared his throat awkwardly. Makoto popped his head around the bathroom door with a smile.

“Did you enjoy the fish?” He asked, and Rin shot him a sharp look that he hoped conveyed ‘let him think I cooked it’. Judging by Makoto’s guileless look, it hadn’t. Rin sighed, and Haru rolled his eyes at him before nodding at Makoto.

Makoto joined them in the bathroom, sitting down on the toilet. Rin was perched on the side of the tub, water soaking through his jeans but perfectly content with it. Truthfully, the bathroom was a bit of a tight fit with all three of them in it, especially since Makoto was so big he counted as at least two people. Of course, that brought them back to the problem of _where to put Haru_. The obvious answer was to take him back to the beach, of course.

“So, Haru.” Rin circled his fingers through a patch of water, avoiding Haru’s eyes. “Do you wanna go back to the sea?” He’d be lying if he said he wanted Haru to go back, but he wouldn’t stop him if that’s what he wanted.

There was a long silence. Rin glanced up to see Haru frowning at his hands, turning them over so the light blue polish caught the light. “No.” He said finally. “I don’t think so. At least not for now.” He added, and looked up to hold Rin’s gaze. His deep blue eyes held him for a second, and Rin found himself unable to look away. The air between them felt oddly electric, making Rin’s pulse thump in his ears. Haru glanced away when Makoto started speaking, and Rin was left staring at his profile, slightly dazed.

“Well, you can’t stay in the bath.” Makoto said doubtfully, seemingly ignorant of what had just passed between the two. Rin snapped out of it, turning his head to give Makoto an incredulous look.

“So where d’you suggest I put him?” He gestured towards Haru lounging in the bath, blinking at the two of them owlishly. “He’s got a _tail_.”

Makoto looked affronted. “I’m just saying that you can’t keep him in the bath forever, Rin. Even you have to shower at some point.”

Rin totally ignored the implication that he didn’t wash (he was very clean, thank you very much) and put his face in his hands. “There’s nowhere else he can go.” He mumbled. “I can’t put him outside because the neighbours will see.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Makoto and Rin thinking hard, Haru squinting at the backs of shampoo bottles with an expression of acute bemusement. 

“Why don’t you blow up one of those kiddie pools and put it in the kitchen?” Makoto suggested. “There’s enough room.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Haru mumbled, at the same time Rin shook his head sharply. He paused.

“Really?” Rin asked. “You wouldn’t mind that?”

Haru shrugged and sunk into the water a little. “I don’t mind.” 

“I think there’s one at my parents house from when I was a kid.” Makoto mused. “I could bring it here, if you like.”

Rin laughed awkwardly. “That’s okay, uh. I’ve got one here.” He glanced away and rubbed at the back of his neck embarrassedly as Makoto laughed. What? Can’t a guy sit out in a kiddie pool with a beer in the middle of summer? If that was wrong, Rin didn’t want to be right.

“Well, okay.” Makoto said amicably. “You working tonight?”

“I called in sick.” Rin said, rising from his seat on the bath. “Will you help me get the pool up?”

“Yeah.” Makoto said, nodding. “But then I really have to get back.”

“Sure, sure.” Rin waved his hand. Like Makoto hadn’t done enough for him. He was gonna rub it right in Rei’s face next time he saw him, that Makoto had been able to work out something he hadn’t. That’s what he deserved for ignoring Rin’s plight. “This way.” He said, leading Makoto out to the garden.

\----------------

Rin cooked himself dinner after they’d gotten Haru moved into the kitchen, with no small amount of sulking on his part about being carried by Rin through the house. He’d felt oddly light, lighter than he looked, and his tail was warm under Rin’s hand as he lowered him into the water. Rin stirred the rice, feeling oddly domestic now there was someone else in the house. He watched Haru watch the small TV mounted on the breakfast bar, and definitely did not think about Haru’s flat stomach and the way it had faded smoothly into pale blue scales.

Haru was absolutely rapt on the TV, and had been for the past hour or so. When Rin had first switched it on, he’d flinched, and stared at it with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. 

“How are the people inside that little box?” He asked, sounding so puzzled that Rin couldn’t help but laugh. Haru had shot him a dirty look and leant on the edge of the pool to be closer to the screen. “No, really,” He muttered, eyes flicking over the screen. “Do all humans have tiny people in boxes in their eating rooms?”

Rin clamped a hand over his mouth before he could burst out laughing, but Haru shot him another glare anyway. When Rin had recovered slightly, he rounded the breakfast bar to stand in front of the TV. 

“No, it’s recorded and shown on the screen.” He said, giving Haru a little grin as he changed channels to a nature documentary. Haru squinted at the brightly coloured bird on screen, then back to Rin, looking absolutely dumbfounded. Rin revelling in his position of knowledge over someone for once, channel surfed until he came to an ocean documentary. Haru’s eyes were like saucers, and he reached out one damp, webbed hand to touch the screen as a fish zipped past to the comforting monotone of the narrator. When his fingers touched glass, he drew his hand back like he’d been burnt, and looked up at Rin again, lips slightly parted in confusion, brow wrinkled. 

“How did they get the whole sea in that tiny screen?” He muttered, frowning. Rin just put his hands on his hips and laughed. Oh, he was going to show Haru _everything_. The guy had been pretty impressed by the showerhead, even. Just wait until Rin demonstrated the toaster to him.

So, the TV had been a hit. The cooker, less so, because apparently Haru had never seen fire in his life and was very against it. Rin snuck a glance Haru’s way, and smiled at the way he was staring at the screen with big eyes, brow wrinkled, as if he was trying to work out what the fuck was going on. Rin wondered if it was making him homesick, seeing the sea again, and cleared his throat a little. Haru jumped, so caught up in the documentary, and levelled an accusing stare Rin’s way, like he was pissed Rin had interrupted his confusion.

“Do you miss it?” Rin asked, and pointed at the TV with a wooden spoon when Haru tipped his head to the side questioningly. “The sea.”

Haru glanced back at the screen before resting his chin on the edge of the pool, looking up at Rin almost morosely. “I miss swimming.” He mumbled, attention dragged back to the TV. “Not a lot else.” He added.

“You got family down there?” Rin asked casually, poking at his food.

Haru shook his head. “No family.” He said quietly. Rin raised his eyebrows and nodded to himself. “There’s not a lot to keep me down there, truthfully.” He added, and shot Rin an unreadable sidelong glance

“Well, at least we’ve got TV up here, huh?” Rin said jovially, wondering when exactly he’d started speaking like his fucking _uncle_. Attractive boys always brought out his inner-middle aged man for some reason. A terrifying combination of his own awkwardness and inability to flirt, probably. 

Haru, like many before him, just gave Rin a flat look before turning back to the TV. Rin hung his head in shame and went back to making dinner.

Whatever, he had plenty of time to impress Haru with his myriad of different skills. Rin was determined to impress the _pants_ off him. Or tail. Scales? Whatever. Haru was gonna be _charmed_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!! i promise it picks up a little next chapter!!


	4. Chapter 4

Rin slept on the sofa in the kitchen that night, because it was Haru’s first night in the house, and the look he gave Rin when he tried to leave the kitchen could only be replicated through a puppy in pain. 

Basically, Rin’s weakness to sad pretty boys was the reason he was tossing and turning on the couch, trying desperately to find a comfortable position. He could hear Haru moving around in the water, the gentle slosh of it up against the walls of the pool. When Rin glanced up he couldn’t see him at all. He wondered how he slept, whether he slept with his face in the water or out.

He gave up on getting any sleep that night, and quietly rose from the couch, blanket draped over his shoulders against the chill in the air. Did merpeople get cold? Probably not. He was fairly certain Haru was cold blooded like a fish, or a reptile. The thought made him grimace as he padded quietly past the pool in the centre of his dining room. Him and Makoto had had to push the tables and chairs aside, and they bristled menacingly against the wall in the darkness. Rin scowled. He hated the dark.

Abruptly, he felt a wet, cold _thing_ clamp tightly onto his arm. He had just enough time to be horrified before he was being pulled into the fucking kiddie pool arm first. Cold water engulfed him, and he shook off the hand around his arm and surfaced with a gasp.

It took him two minutes of coughing to clear the _ocean_ from his lungs. After expelling an impressive amount of water he turned to scowl at Haru through his dripping hair. Haru was sitting there looking as indifferent as ever, as if he hadn’t just hauled Rin, clothes and all, into the water. Rin coughed up some more water and tugged his hoodie onto his shoulders.

“What the fuck, man.” He muttered, staring down at himself. God, he was soaked. How was he gonna get back to his room without drenching the entire house? “You trying to kill me or something?” Haru met that with a blank look, and Rin coughed and scrabbled back. “Wait, are you trying to kill me?”

Haru rolled his eyes. “No.” He said, then moved a little closer to Rin, tail shifting lazily in the water. It was way too small for two people in the pool, Rin realised blandly, as Haru pressed up against his side. “Don’t leave.” Haru muttered, looking at somewhere over his shoulder. 

“I wasn’t leaving.” He said gruffly, trying to covertly adjust his dick in his boxers. The water was so cold it felt like his dick was trying to disappear inside his body, literally. There was a serious shrinkage problem going on. He banished that mental image from his mind and turned to Haru. “Jeez, just speak. You didn’t have to pull me in here.”

Haru just shrugged and pressed a little closer to him. Rin sighed and slung an arm over his shoulder, an unconscious move that made Haru flinch. “Shit, sorry.” Rin said, moving his arm. “I do it to everyone.”

“No, it’s fine.” Haru said quietly, and grasped hold of his wrist tightly to keep his arm around him. Rin found himself going red again and silently considered whether he was going mad or not. Sitting in a kiddie pool at ass o’clock in the morning with some fish boy with separation anxiety. God, and to think his job had been the craziest thing about Rin before this.

“Can’t sleep?” Rin asked, for lack of anything better to say. Haru hummed and nodded, fingers slippery and cold on Rin’s wrist. Slowly, he brought his hand to Rin’s, lacing his fingers through his. The feeling of the webs between his fingers was weird but Rin’s head was too busy being a mess of _???!!!??_ to think about it. “Uh.” He said intelligently.

“The air is too dry here.” Haru said, ignoring him. “The water’s cold.”

“What, and I’m warm?” Rin said jokingly, turning his head to smile at Haru.

“Yes.” Haru said levelly, meeting his gaze calmly. Rin almost choked on his spit, turning red and spluttering while Haru stared at him with those blue eyes. 

“Ah-okay.” He said cluelessly, tugging at his hoodie again. “You’re kinda blunt.” He said with a laugh that he hoped didn’t sound so desperate as it did in his head. Haru just shrugged.

“You _are_ warm.” He said, quietly. Rin ducked his head and tried for a less desperate laugh. It didn’t work.

“Yeah, well. I’ve been told I run hot.” He said dumbly. “And you’re…super cold, actually.” He squeezed Haru’s hand to illustrate his point.

“I’m cold blooded.” Haru said blandly, like it was something you hear everyday. Though, Rin supposed it wasn’t the weirdest thing about Haru by far.

“Like a fish?” Rin joked, wilting when Haru pinned him with a blank stare.

“Yeah, like a fish.” He said coldly, then the corner of his mouth quirked up and Rin exhaled in relief and grinned. 

“Don’t mess me around, man.” He said, squeezing Haru’s fingers. “I thought you were mad at me.”

Haru smiled, a tiny little thing, and slouched back against Rin’s shoulder. “I really am cold blooded like a fish.” He said, in his cute little monotone (and really, Rin had to stop finding things about Haru cute). “I don’t know why I’d be mad about that.” Haru added.

“I have a major case of foot in mouth syndrome.” Rin said with a laugh, then backtracked at Haru’s alarmed expression. “No! It’s not - it’s a saying.” He said defeatedly, putting his free hand over his face. Really, the cultural differences between him and some dude from the sea with a tail were staggering. Of course he wouldn’t get that, they don’t even have _feet_ where he comes from. “Sorry,” Rin muttered. “Bad choice of words.”

“Are you ill?” Haru asked seriously, shaking off Rin’s arm from around his shoulders to move in front of him. His butt (butt? Did merpeople have butts?) was resting on Rin’s thighs, and he had to hold himself back from putting his hands on Haru’s waist. Really, his life was hard.

“No I’m - it’s a turn of phrase.” Rin said desperately, pressing back against the wall of the pool as Haru crowded closer, splaying his hands against Rin’s chest. God, did merpeople have no boundaries? 

“Oh.” Haru said, sounding confused. “I don’t know what that is.”

“It’s just. It doesn’t matter.” Rin muttered, giving up. “Like, every cloud has a silver lining? You heard that?”

Haru shook his head, hands still splayed across Rin’s wet shirt front. Rin huffed and turned his eyes skyward, trying to think of a way to explain it.

“Like…there’s something good in every bad thing that happens.” He said eventually. Haru scrunched his face up, looking thoughtful.

“Like me getting injured but you finding me and taking me here?” He asked, eyes boring into Rin’s. Rin made an embarrassed noise and lowered his gaze, just about making out the shape of Haru’s torso beneath the water in the dark. 

“Uh, how is it?” He asked awkwardly, ears burning from the implication that Haru thought being here was a _good_ thing. “Your side, I mean.” He added quickly, when Haru tilted his head to the side in askance.

Haru shrugged. “It hurts.” He said indifferently, hands sliding up to rest on Rin’s shoulders.

“Oh, yeah?” Rin asked, feeling oddly brave as he put his hand on Haru’s side, fingers tracing his ribs, along the small indent of his waist. Haru went very still, then relaxed against him a little. “How’d it happen?” 

“Rough waves.” Haru said quietly. “I collided with a rock.” He said, and smiled self-deprecatingly. Rin laughed and ran his fingers along Haru’s side again, making him shiver.

“Sorry.” He said, drawing his hand away. “Does that hurt?” 

Haru fixed him with a hard look. “No, it’s nice.” He murmured, and frowned until Rin rested his hand on his waist again. They stared at each other for a long moment, Rin feeling himself get stupider and stupider by every millisecond passing.

There was only one way this could go, Rin realised. Here he was, inches from a cute fish boy, hand on his waist, fish boy was sitting on his lap. He couldn’t just awkwardly laugh this off and start up a new conversation. He couldn’t just go to sleep, not with the way Haru’s eyes were lingering on his mouth. For a crazy second, Rin imagined himself getting up with the excuse of changing his wet clothes. (He dismissed it, because he didn’t hate himself _that_ much).

“Hey,” He muttered, pulling Haru a little closer by the waist, smiling at how willingly he moved with him. He tilted his face up and pressed a little kiss to the underside of Haru’s jaw, another to his throat. Pulling back, Rin smirked at him, expecting Haru to look flushed and dark eyed but was met with a disappointed expression. Rin’s heart dropped. “Fuck, what did I do?” He muttered, hands falling from Haru’s waist. 

“Is that all?” Haru muttered, sounding a touch grumpy. Rin had a moment to frown, before Haru was cupping his jaw and drawing him closer to kiss. Rin made surprised little sound against his mouth, hand curling unconsciously on his hip as Haru flicked his tongue over his lips, prompting him to open his mouth with a quiet moan.

Okay, so Haru was _direct_. He wasn’t wasting any time, curling his hand in the hair at the nape of Rin’s neck, pressing his tongue against Rin’s with a soft little noise. The water sloshed between them, freezing paired with the cold press of Haru’s chest against his. Rin bit down on Haru’s bottom lip, hands tightening on his skin as he shivered all over, tiny little breaths warm against Rin’s lips as they parted, Haru’s hand still twisting absently in Rin’s hair.

“More like that?” Rin asked, and Haru rolled his eyes before ducking down to kiss him again. The warm, slow slide of tongues left Rin breathing heavy as Haru pulled away.

“Yes.” Haru said coolly, bringing a hand away from Rin’s neck to wipe his lips. Rin grinned at him, oddly high on the sensation of kissing someone new. His smile slipped off his face as Haru pressed a hand to his chest before trailing down to where his shirt had ridden up to his stomach. He splayed cold, elegant fingers across the muscles of Rin’s stomach, watching Rin’s face closely as he moved them slowly upwards.

“Do you swim?” He asked interestedly, like he wasn’t groping Rin under the sodden fabric of his t-shirt. Rin cleared his throat and nodded, then shook his head.

“Used to.” He said in a gruff voice, trying not to arch into Haru’s touch as his fingers skimmed over Rin’s nipple, catching on the metal bar in it. Haru gave him a surprised look.

“What’s that?” He asked, running his fingertips over it again. Rin swallowed, breath catching in his throat.

“Nipple piercing.” He muttered, glad the topic had switched from swimming, though unsure if the new topic was a lot better. He held onto Haru’s wrist as he touched his nipple again and gave him a desperate look. “Stop doing that.” For the first time since he’d been dunked in it, Rin was thankful for the freezing cold water on his dick.

Haru pulled his wrist out of Rin’s grasp with an affronted look, but extracted his hand from Rin’s wet shirt, at least. “Why would you put metal through it?” He asked, cocking his head to the side and staring at Rin’s chest like if he looked hard enough he could see through his shirt. Rin huffed and shrugged.

“I dunno.” He said. “Looks good. Feels good.”

Haru shot him an interested look, eyebrows arched and mouth a surprised little o. “Does it?” He asked, extending his hand to Rin’s chest again, then pausing. “Can I touch it?”

Rin rolled his eyes but gave up, mostly because he was weak and it felt good, but also because he’d learnt that Haru was a stubborn little fuck when he wanted to be. With some difficulty, he wrestled his hoodie off, then pulled his shirt over his head, grunting in frustration as the wet fabric clung to him.

Haru’s looked him up and down slowly, and Rin leant back on the wall of pool, elbows hooked over it and head tipped back, watching him. Rin was pretty used to being looked at by people, but there was something different about this. More intimate, more personal. Haru’s eyes were dark as he looked over him, the only sounds the hum of the fridge and water sloshing as Haru moved closer to press his hands against Rin’s chest. Rin shivered as Haru thumbed over his nipples, and Haru shot him a quick little glance, tip of his tongue poking out to wet his lips.

“Come here.” Rin muttered, pulling him close again with a hand on the nape of his neck. Haru moved willingly with him, mouth open and warm as they kissed. Rin rolled his tongue over Haru’s, who made a breathy little sound against his lips, water sloshing as he flicked his tail through the water. _That_ kinda brought Rin back to himself, and he pulled away with a glance at the faint shape of Haru’s tail that he could see through the dark.

Haru was watching him curiously, hands still braced against Rin’s chest. “What’s the matter?” He asked.

Rin sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling like a scumbag all of a sudden. “Uh, sorry. Does this count as taking advantage?” At Haru’s blank look, he tried to elaborate, tripping over his words. “I mean, y’know, taking you back here…and everything. You don’t have to!” He ended desperately, hoping Haru understood what he was trying to say.

Haru gazed at him blankly. “I’m not kissing you because I feel indebted to you, if that’s what you mean.” He said levelly, before kissing Rin again, as if to prove his point.

“If you say so.” Rin said doubtfully, and flinched back with a laugh as Haru slapped a hand on his chest, a longsuffering look on his face.

“I do say so.” He said blandly. Rin nodded and gave him a lazy half-salute.

“Got it.” He said. They sat in silence for a minute, before Rin shivered violently. Haru gave him an affronted look. “I’m cold.” Rin explained apologetically. Cold was probably an understatement, since his nipples were so hard they could probably cut glass, but Rin decided Haru didn’t really need to know that.

“You should probably get out.” Haru said hesitantly, his expression telling Rin _exactly_ how much he approved of that idea.

Rin craned his head to check the clock behind him, its black hands pointing telling him it was the ungodly hour of four a.m. _I’d usually just be leaving work at this time_ , Rin mused, before gesturing with a jerk of his head that Haru should get off him. He complied, with a faintly disgruntled expression, and Rin stood, letting the water pour off him.

“Fuck” He muttered, shivering. If possible, it was even colder outside the water than in. “This is not the time of year to go for a swim.” He joked, eyes scanning the floor before giving up and tugging his sweatpants off to wring the water out of. He supposed it should be weird, standing in a kiddie pool at four in the morning with a fish boy staring at his ass, but Rin had had weirder nights.

“I’ll be right back.” He promised, before stepping out of the pool (with a quick apology to his hardwood floors) and walking quickly to the bathroom, where he hung up his soaking clothes and turned the taps on hot in the bath.

Haru was staring glumly at the doorway when Rin returned, wearing dry clothes with a thick jumper pulled over the top. The corner of Haru’s lips tugged up as he reappeared, and Rin rolled his eyes as he dodged the puddles he’d made on the floor until he was crouching next to the tub.

“I feel bad making you stay in this cold water.” He muttered, crossing his arms over his chest, swaying a little as he lost balance. Haru just shrugged, face perfectly tranquil again.

“It doesn’t bother me.” He replied, trailing a graceful hand through the water and giving Rin a surprisingly sly look through his fringe. “You know, the sea’s a lot colder.”

Rin shrugged. “I’m running a bath.” He told him, catching himself on the side of the pool as he swayed again. “How about going back in? It’ll be warm.” He added, grinning. He’d put Haru in cold water when he’d brought him home, because he wasn’t sure if he’d like warm water. “You’d like that, right?” 

Haru tipped his head to the side, considering. “Yeah.” He said after a minute. “Okay. Your clothes are gonna get wet carrying me though.”

“That’s fine.” Rin said, grunting as he stood, stretching his arms over his head until his back popped. Trying to get to sleep on that couch had given him a weird ache in his back that he couldn’t dispel, and he shuddered at the prospect of sleeping on the bathroom floor if Haru didn’t let him get back to his bed.

Haru did get his clothes a little wet, but gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as Rin was carrying him back to the bathroom, which made it worth it. Rin’s face was still burning as he lowered him into the warm water before leaning across to shut the taps off.

“How d’you like it?” Rin asked, taking a seat on the side of the bath as Haru submerged himself up to his chin, closing his eyes and letting his arms float out from his sides. He hummed happily, opening his eyes a little as he gave Rin a small smile.

“It’s nice.” He said, as reserved with his words as ever. Rin grinned too and flinched back with a laugh as Haru flicked his tail at him, water splashing over him.

“Cut that out.” He muttered amusedly, glancing away then back, eyes following the shape of Haru through the water. He could see the bruise on his side clearer now that they were in the light. It looked malignant, dark and mottled against Haru’s pale skin. He cleared his throat, trying to think of what he could put on it and coming up mostly blank.

“Are you tired?” Haru asked after a moment, startling Rin out of his thoughts. Haru was looking at him through heavy lidded eyes, looking plenty tired himself. Rin supposed it had been a hell of a long day for him too.

“Yeah, kind of.” He said ruefully, rubbing at his eyes. Unbidden, a yawn rose in his throat and he yawned widely, grinning when he set Haru off too.

“You can sleep in your bed.” Haru said quietly, sinking into the water until it was over his face. Rin blinked at him, surprised. Haru blinked back, transparent vertical eyelids closing over his eyes for a split second, making Rin gape and lean forward over the water, eyes wide. Haru laughed at his expression, muted through the water, bubbles streaming from his nose and mouth. A proper full-bodied laugh, his tail flicking as he resurfaced and leant forward to clasp Rin’s face between his webbed hands.

“You’ve got a nice laugh.” Rin said dumbly, cheeks flushing hot under Haru’s cool palms. Haru laughed again, a quiet little thing, nothing close to the one before. “Can I really sleep in my bed?” Rin asked hesitantly, eyes flicking over Haru’s face before settling on his eyes, tranquil and blue.

“I’ll be fine.” Haru assured him, drawing him closer to press a kiss to his lips. He moved away before Rin could react, shuffled up to the opposite side of the bath and slipped beneath the water again, only his eyes and hair sticking out.

“I’m gonna-“ Rin stood jerkily and jerked his thumb towards his room. “I’ll get up early.” He promised, and Haru nodded before closing his eyes, looking peaceful and relaxed in the warm water.

Rin stumbled back to his room after switching the bathroom light off, pulling his jumper over his head and flopping into his bed with a sigh. He pondered trying to think back over the events of the past hour, but his tired mind recoiled, needing sleep and no over-analysis of the fact that he’d kissed a merman and thoroughly enjoyed it, apparently.

He fell asleep clutching his pillow, listening to the faint sounds of water moving down the hall, and dreamed of TV screens you could reach through and touch the scales of fish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm laughing this is the most self indulgent thing i've ever written...rin with nipple piercings....god
> 
> also this chapter is super long i couldn't cut it off without making it awkward?? so enjoy the super long chapter i guess...
> 
> comments are appreciated! pls point out any mistakes u see + thanks for reading B)
> 
> oh and also i'm putting this fic on kinda semi-hiatus... i haven't been writing a lot recently for various reasons so chapters for this will be kind of sporadic i'm v sorry (not that it had a regular update schedule anyway but i've been trying to get them out weekly but that def won't be happening anymore i'm sorry)


	5. Chapter 5

Rin rose late the next day, stumbling into the bathroom in nothing but his underwear with tired eyes, squinting against the afternoon light. It took him a few seconds of stunned confusion to remember _why_ exactly there was a dark haired boy with a blue fucking fish tail in his bath, and when he did he spun around to look in the mirror, wide eyed. His hair was sticking up everywhere, and he pressed two fingers to a dark mark on his throat, the events of last night flooding back to him. Behind him, Haru shifted, propping his elbows on the side of the bath and blinking at Rin sleepily.

It felt very much like some sort of surreal dream, and Rin pinched himself covertly to make sure he was awake. God, he’d kissed a merman in the early hours of the morning, drunk on sleeplessness and pretty blue eyes. This was far fetched, even for Rin.

“Haru.” He stuttered out, wondering if he should say something. Haru just regarded him with that cool, almost blank gaze, chin propped on his hands. “Good morning.” Rin added dumbly, suddenly very aware of his near-nude state as Haru’s eyes swept over him quickly. He jerked his thumb in the direction of his bedroom. “I’m just gonna-“

“The water’s gone cold.” Haru muttered, eyes looking a little mournful. Rin stopped and stared, half-awake brain still struggling the process the situation.

“Cold.” He echoed, and then nodded. “Yeah, cold. Okay.” He crossed to the bath and put his hands on his hips, mind working. Jesus, he hadn’t had enough sleep to try and process the mechanics of emptying and refilling a bath, apparently. “Just pull the plug out until the water drains, then put the plug back in and turn the hot tap on.” He instructed. At Haru’s blank expression, he pointed to the hot tap. “This one, make sure it’s not too hot though.”

Haru nodded and followed his instructions, brow wrinkled in concentration as he inspected the taps. Rin took the opportunity to brush his teeth, watching Haru in the mirror over the sink.

“What’re you doing?” Haru piped up from behind him, flicking his tail under the jets of water from the taps. His lips quirked up in a faint smile when he caught Rin’s eye, boyish and soft, and Rin felt his heart thud against his ribcage at the sight.

“Brushing my teeth?” He mumbled, spitting in the sink before turning to show Haru his toothbrush, who stared at it in wide eyed fascination.

“What does it do?” Haru asked, crowding close to the edge of the bath, a little wrinkle between his eyebrows. Rin crouched down, mimed brushing his teeth before grinning. 

“Cleans your teeth.” He said, steadying himself on the edge of the bath. “Keeps them from falling out or whatever.”

Haru looked impressed and motioned for Rin to come closer. “Open your mouth.” He instructed, and Rin obeyed, slight confusion turning to surprise when Haru trailed a finger across his teeth, the thumb of his other hand resting on the swell of Rin’s lower lip.

Rin made a muffled noise, trying to close his mouth, but Haru gave him a firm look and used two fingers to tug on the side of his mouth, making him open wider. He pressed a fingertip to Rin’s sharp eyeteeth, the pads of his fingers dragging across Rin’s tongue, over his palette and pressing down on his molars. Rin tried very, very hard not to be turned on by Haru exploring his mouth like that, but he was only human. He made an embarrassed noise and squirmed a little, feeling his cheeks turn hot.

Haru shot him a surprised look, then his cheeks turned pink, as if he realised what he was doing. He let go of the side of Rin’s mouth, and made a tiny noise in the back of his throat when Rin closed his mouth around his fingers, almost unconsciously. They stared at each other for a moment, Rin’s heart beating hard in his chest, before he very deliberately curled his tongue around one of Haru’s knuckles. He tasted like nothing really, the lingering floral scent of shampoo maybe, and when he withdrew his fingers a little Rin opened his mouth to nip at his fingertips gently.

“They’re very clean.” Haru said dumbly, pulling his fingers out of Rin’s mouth, ears pink. Rin just made a strangled noise and sat back on his butt, toothbrush hanging limp between his fingers. Really, that was so uncalled for. Especially before his morning coffee.

“Yeah.” He said stupidly, and cleared his throat in embarrassment. Well that fucking _escalated_. God, Rin was too tired for this, “Uh, anyway-“ He muttered, hauling himself to his feet and hoping Haru wouldn’t notice that he was half-mast in his tiny boxer briefs. Rin’s life was so painful, sometimes. “I’m gonna make coffee. I’ll be back in a minute.” He said in a rush, and escaped to the kitchen and the promise of caffeinating his overloaded brain. “Remember to turn the taps off!” He called over his shoulder as he snagged a dressing gown off the back of his bedroom door before doubling back to the kitchen.

He called Nagisa as the kettle boiled, knowing he’d pick up since the guy was practically glued to his phone 24/7. Sure enough, he picked up on the second ring, his overly cheerful voice cutting right through Rin’s foggy mind.

“Rin! What a surprise! What do you need?” He asked, sounding absolutely ecstatic that Rin had chosen to call him. Rin huffed out a little sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes shut. _An intervention, perhaps?_

“I need to go to work tonight or I’m gonna lose too much money.” He muttered. “I was wondering if you could come here and keep an eye on Haru.”

Nagisa made a sly little noise. “Fish guy’s got a name now, huh?”

“Yeah, he’s talking.” Rin said, pouring water into his mug and spooning sugar in one handed. “So, can you?”

“I dunno.” Nagisa said doubtfully. “I’ll ask Rei.” He said, and Rin heard him call out to Rei before he pressed his phone to his chest, the rest of their conversation turning muffled. Rin took the opportunity to take a sip of coffee, grimacing as it burnt his throat.

“I’m sorry, Rin.” Nagisa’s voice came back on the line, sounding deeply, tragically apologetic. “We’re having dinner with Rei’s parents tonight.” Rin could practically _hear_ him pouting. No doubt Nagisa had been looking forward to poking at Haru a little more.

“Whatever, fine.” Rin said defeatedly. “I’ll call Kou and explain the whole thing to her.”

Nagisa wished him luck and apologised again before hanging up. Rin dialled Kou’s number, hoping she wasn’t too busy to pick up. 

The phone rang for a while before Kou picked up, muttering a distracted, “What?” down the phone. Rin could hear talking in the background as well as the clink of knives and forks, and figured she must be out for lunch with her friends.

“Kou, I need your help.” He said, trying to inject some degree of urgency into it that she’d hopefully pick up on and come running.

“What is it?” She asked curiously.

Rin decided against trying to summarise the whole situation for her – it wasn’t something that translated well over phone. She’d probably think he was fucking with her and hang up or something. “I need you to come down here to see something.” He said slowly. “I need a favour.” He added.

Kou was silent for a moment, then sighed. “Fine, I’ll come by at three.” She said. “You better not be in any trouble.”

After promising he wasn’t, they said their goodbyes and Rin hung up, shoving his phone into his dressing gown pocket. He glanced at the kitchen clock. Two hours until Kou got here, just enough time for Rin to get himself looking presentable and like he hadn’t been making out with a merman he’d found not twenty four hours ago.

Rin stared down at his coffee for a moment, steeling himself to go back into the bathroom. It wasn’t like he regretted anything, god no, Haru was way cute and way willing and Rin liked that but just. He was being stupid, he decided, and picked his coffee up before making his way back down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for the long wait between updates!! university is solidly kicking my ass at the moment and i'm right in the middle of a ton of deadlines so! i'll probs be back on a more regular update schedule once i'm on christmas break 
> 
> in the meantime, enjoy some oral fixation rinharu??? i'm so self indulgent
> 
> and just in case u wanna keep up with updates! [my tumblr](http://girlshinji.tumblr.com/) and [my twitter](https://twitter.com/neckworu)
> 
> thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

“Water warm enough?” He asked, settling himself down on the edge of the bath and swinging his legs over to settle into the water. Haru’s tail brushed up against his shins, cool and slippery, incredibly alien. 

“I’ll never swim in the sea again.” Haru deadpanned, the corner of his mouth twitching up at Rin’s doubtful look. 

“Listen, I’m going into work tonight.” Rin said, taking a gulp of coffee and hissing as it burnt his tongue. “So I’m going to ask my sister to come keep an eye on you.” Haru frowned at that, and Rin backtracked quickly. “Not that you need it but! I mean, you can’t get your own food, or even read the taps, so.”

Haru glanced away, looking disgruntled, and Rin rolled his eyes before taking another sip of coffee. 

“I gotta use the shower, and the bathroom though.” He mused, trying to mentally calculate the possibilities of getting Haru to move from his newfound favourite thing: warm water. The chances were incredibly slim. 

“I won’t look.” Haru said, and Rin squinted at him, trying to work out if he was kidding or not. The guy was _inscrutable_ , seriously.

“Yeah well, I was gonna put you in the kitchen anyway.” Rin said, curling his hands around his mug and wiggling his toes against the lower half of Haru’s tail as he spoke. “It’s just easier.” He explained, as Haru frowned.

He sat back to drink his coffee in peace as Haru amused himself with the shampoo bottles lined up along the edge of the bath. The loofa was a particular amusement to him, and he spent a good few minutes thoughtfully regarding Rin’s lemon and honey soap bar before Rin took it away from him and told him it was inedible.

“Okay.” Rin muttered, setting his mug down on the toilet seat and running his hands through his hair. “I suppose I better get ready.”

“Wait.” Haru said, sounding sulky. “You can bathe with me.” He mumbled, once he had Rin’s attention. Rin laughed awkwardly. Already he’d kissed him, and then there was that weird thing not an hour ago with his fingers in Rin’s mouth. Either Haru was completely socially inept by nature, or the fucking _laws of the sea_ were a lot different than up on land. At least, in terms of kissing and nude-bathing with another guy, anyway.

“I dunno…” Rin mumbled, trailing off as he tried to think of a good enough reason not to. He wanted to, that was for sure, and Rin had been trying very hard recently to not deny himself the things he wanted. He shrugged. “Fine,” He said. “Fuck it, why not.”

Haru gave him one of his funny little smiles, and Rin wondered when exactly during the past twenty-four hours that he’d noticed exactly what Haru’s ordinary smile was like. He shrugged his dressing gown off, and after a moment of hesitation stood up and pulled his underwear off, trying not to get too red in the face as he stepped closer to the bath. Haru shifted up a little bit, curling his tail up so it looked like he was sitting with his knees pressed to his chest, only like, blue and scaly. It was gonna take some work getting used to the tail thing, Rin figured, stretching his legs out down Haru’s side. It was a tight squeeze, but it was nice. Rin tried not to focus on how he was sitting there with his dick out in front of basically a stranger, and motioned for Haru to pass the shampoo.

“Can I do it?” Haru asked, clutching the bottle to his chest. Rin tried to figure out the logistics, decided he still wasn’t awake enough to, and shrugged.

“I don’t think it’ll work.” Rin said doubtfully, then backtracked when Haru pouted a little. “I’ll do yours! It’s easier with legs.” He explained, and tried not to notice the little flash of regret on Haru’s face.

He washed his hair quickly, ducking his head under the water to rinse and resurfacing with a gasp to find Haru watching him closely. When he noticed Rin looking, he glanced away, and Rin felt himself blush.

“Come here.” He said, bracing himself for having Haru’s scaly tail-butt nestled up against his junk. After a serious amount of manoeuvring (and more water splashed over the side than was actually _in_ the tub) Haru had his back pressed up against Rin’s chest comfortably, Rin’s knees on either side of him. It turned out the scale-butt wasn’t so bad, softer than Rin expected, which led to a whole host of other problems, like trying not to get a hard-on and other fun stuff. 

Haru came just level with Rin’s lips, which was cute. He wondered that their height difference would be if Haru had legs, smiling to himself as he worked shampoo through Haru’s thick dark hair.

“You need a haircut.” He commented, pulling it back from Haru’s face to stop soap running into his eyes. Haru didn’t reply, and Rin pressed on. “So like, do you cut your hair? Underwater, I mean.” He added, feeling a bit stupid.

Haru half twisted so he could look Rin in the eyes, expression grave. “Yes, we cut them using crabs as tools.”

Rin squinted at him suspiciously. “You’re joking. You’re kidding, right?”

Haru shook his head seriously and turned so he was facing away from Rin again. “No, I’m not.” He said blandly. “We also use jellyfish jelly to style it.”

Rin snorted and tugged on his hair a little. “Okay, now you’re shitting me.” He muttered, flushing pink at his own stupidity. Whatever, like Haru was any better. He’d been fascinated by bread for a solid half hour the other day. Rin had thought he’d never get him to stop eating it.

“Crabs don’t even live as deep as we do.” Haru said, and made an amused sound at Rin’s dumbfounded silence. “Yes, I’m joking.” He said, and flinched away with a quiet laugh when Rin slapped his shoulder in retaliation.

“Rinse.” He muttered, pushing on Haru’s shoulder until he ducked his head in the water, running his fingers through his hair. It flowed out like an inky halo from his head, and Rin was momentarily captivated as he noticed the gills on the side of Haru’s neck opening and closing, supposedly as he breathed. Rin reminded himself _not_ to try and give him a hickey on the side of his neck, if it came down to it again. 

Haru settled back against Rin with a sigh as he resurfaced, hair wet and dripping into his face before he shook it out, like a dog. The comparison made Rin laugh, and he shook his head at Haru’s raised eyebrows. Hell, Haru probably didn’t even know what a dog was, Rin realised. 

“So, why did you stop swimming?” Haru asked as Rin wound his arms around his waist and linked his fingers together. It took a minute for Rin to realise he was continuing their conversation from last night, then another minute to try and divert the topic. Haru waited patiently through his silence, playing with Rin’s fingers as he battled internally with himself.

“I ended up hating it.” Was all he said, brushing his thumbs over the muscles of Haru’s stomach. Haru hummed, prompting him to go on, and Rin gritted his teeth. “I wanted to go Olympic, but I wasn’t good enough.” He said finally. “Let’s leave it at that.” He muttered, and they lapsed into silence.

“What’s Olympic?” Haru asked eventually, and Rin snorted in amusement. 

“It’s a big deal if you swim competitively.” Rin muttered, trying to keep it simple. “I was good in high school, made it to nationals, I was scouted for a university team, but.” He shrugged. “It just didn’t work out.”

“I don’t think that’s a good enough reason to stop swimming completely.” Haru said, turning around a little to give Rin a serious look. “If you love swimming, stuff like that shouldn’t stop you.”

“Maybe.” Rin said shortly, not wanting to continue the conversation anymore. Haru seemed to take the hint, and turned back around so he was resting up against Rin’s chest again.

“What do you do now?” Haru asked after a minute of silence, toying with Rin’s fingers on his stomach. Rin felt his face heat up in embarrassment and stared down at the top of Haru’s head, wondering how he should tell him.

“I work in a gay club downtown.” He said in a rush, face burning. “I strip.”

Haru was silent for a minute, then tilted his head back, expression curious. “I don’t know what that means.” He murmured, and Rin laughed embarrassedly.

“I take my clothes off for money.” He muttered, resting his forehead against Haru’s, hiding. 

“Why would you do that?” Haru asked, perplexed. Rin groaned. He’d never thought he’d have to explain the details behind stripping to someone but well, he never thought he’d be bathing naked with a merman, so.

“It’s a sex thing, I guess.” He said, leaning back against the side of the bath so Haru couldn’t see his red face. “People want what they can’t have, and they can’t have me. There’s a 100% guarantee that guys will see other naked guys, no strings attached. I guess it’s a fantasy thing too…most of these guys are married or whatever, they know they’ll never have a guy like me but they can dream, right?” He huffed a little laugh at Haru’s expression. “I get a long time to think when I’m stripping.” He said in a low voice. “Believe me, I’ve wondered why I’d do it too.” 

“That sounds stupid.” Haru said blankly, and Rin laughed again.

“It pays the bills.” He said offhandedly. “And I get all day free to do whatever I like.”

“So that’s where you’re going tonight?” Haru asked, turning around with difficulty. Eventually he settled so he was sitting sideways in the bath, tail over the edge, leaning into Rin’s space a little. Rin shrugged and nodded and Haru frowned. “Are you gonna leave me alone tonight?” 

“You’ll be with my sister.” Rin said, surprised. He left the part out about how Kou might freak out and leave, because it was something he didn’t want to consider himself. Haru’s frown deepened.

“What time will you be back?” He asked, sliding his hand over Rin’s bicep to rest lightly against his chest. Rin swallowed, glanced down at his pale hand against the darker skin of his own chest, looked back up.

“Late.” He said. “You’ll be asleep.”

“I’ll stay awake.” Haru said stubbornly, and Rin laughed before shifting away from him a little, glancing over at the clock on the wall.

“It’ll be really late.” He said, and gestured for Haru to move back so he could step out of the tub. As much as he didn’t want to leave the warm water and the cool press of Haru’s skin, he needed for them both to be ready and presentable when Kou turned up. 

Haru turned his nose up at him. “I’ll be awake when you come home.” He said firmly. Rin just laughed, wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped towards the door.

“Okay, what, you wanna make it a challenge?” He joked, tucking the towel so he didn’t have to hold it up. He glanced back over his shoulder to see Haru giving him a steady look, just the faintest frown on his face.

“Fine.” He said levelly. Rin grinned.

“You’re gonna lose.” He said loftily, stepping close to the tub again with the intention of kissing the little pout off Haru’s lips, but was stopped when Haru flicked his tail and send a veritable _wall_ of water towards him. He blinked and spluttered, shaking wet hair out his face to see a small smile on Haru’s lips.

“I’ll win.” Haru said smugly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like i apologise for the long wait between chapters and describe how uni is eating me alive every time i update but i'm sorry!! an ongoing fic is more of a commitment than marriage honestly
> 
> but anyway i hope you like this chapter !


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